Tuesday 12th April was an horrendous night. As I’m certain this board has not been spared the lurid details, I would just like to exercise my right to reply – I assume I still have that.
But for those vultures circling in hope of a feast of fresh carrion, sorry – you’ll be going hungry. I am not one for washing dirty linen in public.
I spent the evening at a hotel near Gatwick airport in readiness for a trip to the US the following day. After the unfortunate debacle that unfolded, I was in no mood to make this trip and returned home the next day, before heading off for a few days in Cornwall. I returned home briefly at the weekend, and found that there were several emails, phone and text messages, indicating that my travel companion had decided to spill the beans about that unfortunate night. I was in no frame of mind for dealing with BBS material, and didn’t stay home long before embarking on a mini shopping trip to France. I felt a lot better after that, and ready to see what had been cooking, but found that the two threads (here, and AGW) had been deleted. Consequently, I have not read a single word of them, and can only guess what was said, and by whom.
I am not going to stoop to making a character assassination. Like I said, I don’t wash dirty linen in public, and that includes other people’s dirty linen. But what I will say is this: Everyone knows and understands the concept of people who, when they have seemingly insurmountable problems in their lives, vent their anger on innocent bystanders. Eg. guy gets fired from his job, comes home and kicks the dog. A crude example, but adequate. Well, between booking this US trip and actually making it, some rather bad news had been received by my travelling companion.
Other than that, I will answer a few questions that may have been asked.
Did I wilfully cause injury to anyone that night? No, absolutely not. I have never deliberately hurt any one in my entire adult life.
Had you been drinking? Yes, my companion and I had actually spent a pleasant evening at the hotel bar, and had had three or four beers, not more. As attendees of the Eurocon have witnessed, beer (even in large/eurocon quantities) does not make me aggressive or change my personality.
Has this sort of thing ever happened before? LOL – just naming the dates and places would be a wall of text on its own, but fortunately neither of us got hurt on any of those numerous occasions.
What triggered it off? Always very minor matters, from my italicised pronunciation of the word “diesel” when looking for a suitable pump for refuelling the car, to the fact that I have my wristwatch set up to beep on the hour every hour. On the night in question, the trigger was my inability to answer a question about mobile phone technology.
Was alcohol always a factor in these wobbly moments? No, the “diesel moment” happened in the car, during a period of stone cold sobriety.
Could the unfortunate outcome of that night been avoided? Yes. When I was unable to answer the question about mobile phone technology, I had at least two alternatives. Being kept awake all night by a screeching fishwife was not one that I was willing to consider. So I called front desk and asked for a second room where I could spend the night alone. A room was available, and I prepared to leave. Up to that point, there were two very angry and pissed off people in the room, but no-one was hurt. That last part of the status quo could have been maintained had my departure from the room not been obstructed.
So whose fault was it? Hard to say. I was involved with someone else from 1995-2000, and we never argued at all – not once, and we’re still the best of friends to this day. You be the judge.
I would like to thank those of you who very kindly sent me messages of support. Some of you I haven’t even met in person. It was a rough week and the emails/texts were well received at a time when they were needed.
I would also like to thank Skuzzy/HTC moderators for recognising that a public debate on this board about my private life is inappropriate, and for deleting it. I have nothing to add to THIS thread, and will not be entering into any debate about my private life. So you can lock this.
Thanks also to guys like Habu and Drunky whose posts I read, for recognising that there IS always another side to a story.
I don’t use the HTC boards as much as before because I’m not currently playing flightsim games, and the two games I do play have their own boards. But I still hope to revisit the O’Club from time to time, and get my monthly gun thread fix!
_______________________
”Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” – William Congreve, The Mourning Bride
